Kobuk Valley National Park and Preserve – Ancient arctic sand dunes and a sub-arctic river that traverses the boreal forest, this park harbors archeological sites more than 10,000 years old, and supports small communities of inland Inupiat peoples.

Noatak National Preserve – As one of North America's largest mountain-ringed river basins with an intact ecosystem, the Noatak River environs features some of the Arctic's finest arrays of plants and animals.

Understand

Talk

Native Inuit languages are spoken in many small towns. However, English is the primary language, spoken by most Inuits except perhaps most elderly. There are only a handful of persons fluent in any other languages.

Get in

The main method of arriving in Arctic Alaska is by air. Alaska Airlines offers almost daily commercial flights to the cities of Barrow and Deadhorse. Additionally, many small turboprop services offer service to towns/airstrips throughout the region.

The Dalton Highway connects Deadhorse and the Prudhoe Bay oilfield with Fairbanks. The highway, one of only two roads across the Arctic Circle in North America and provides a unique experience, running through the Brooks Range, Atigun Pass, North Slope and Coastal Plain. The highway can be accessed via the Steese and Elliot highways from Fairbanks.

Get around

Small planes, including ones with skis or pontoons, are the best way of accessing this remote and vast region. Most small towns have an airstrip or are located near a lake. Air travel in this region provides spectacular views of remote terrain.

The Dalton Highway runs through the Brooks Range, North Slope, and Coastal Plain to Deadhorse. This road is a great way to view these remote areas without a plane. Additionally, several roads extend outward from Barrow into surrounding areas.

Sled dogs may be used in wintery months, but the extreme cold of this region in the middle of the winter can be very treacherous.